Semiconductor device having a communication bus

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device for an input device comprises sensor circuitry, a plurality of contacts and a sensor bus. A first contact of the plurality of contacts is configured to be coupled to a first sensor electrode of the plurality of sensor electrodes, a second contact of the plurality of contacts is configured to be coupled to a second sensor electrode of the plurality of sensor electrodes, and a third contact of the plurality of contacts is configured to be coupled to a third sensor electrode of the plurality of sensor electrodes. The sensor bus comprises a plurality of traces. A first trace of the plurality of traces is configured to couple the first contact and the second contact to a first transmitter of the sensor circuitry and a second trace of the plurality of traces is coupled to the third contact to a first receiver of the sensor circuitry.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/551,139, filed Aug. 26, 2019, which application is incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND Field

The disclosure herein is generally related to electronic devices, andmore specifically, to capacitive sensing devices.

Description of the Related Art

Input devices including proximity sensor devices may be used in avariety of electronic systems. A proximity sensor device may include asensing region, demarked by a surface, in which the proximity sensordevice determines the presence, location, force and/or motion of one ormore input objects. Proximity sensor devices may be used to provideinterfaces for the electronic system. For example, proximity sensordevices may be used as input devices for larger computing systems, suchas touchscreens integrated in, or peripheral to, notebook or desktopcomputers. Proximity sensor devices may also often be used in smallercomputing systems, such as touch screens integrated in cellular phones.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a semiconductor device comprises a die bodycomprising sensor circuitry, a plurality of pads and a sensor bus. Thesensor circuitry is configured to operate a plurality of sensorelectrodes disposed in a single layer for capacitive sensing. A firstpad of the plurality of pads is configured to be coupled to a firstsensor electrode of the plurality of sensor electrodes, a second pad ofthe plurality of pads is configured to be coupled to a second sensorelectrode of the plurality of sensor electrodes, and a third pad of theplurality of pads is configured to be coupled to a third sensorelectrode of the plurality of sensor electrodes. The sensor buscomprises a plurality of wires. A first wire of the plurality of wiresis configured to couple the first pad and the second pad to a firsttransmitter of the sensor circuitry and a second wire of the pluralityof wires is coupled to the third pad to a first receiver of the sensorcircuitry.

In one embodiment, an input device comprises a plurality of sensorelectrodes and a semiconductor device. The plurality of sensorelectrodes is disposed in a common layer. The semiconductor devicecomprising sensor circuitry, a plurality of pads and a sensor bus. Thesensor circuitry is configured to operate the plurality of sensorelectrodes disposed in a single layer for capacitive sensing. A firstpad of the plurality of pads is configured to be coupled to a firstsensor electrode of the plurality of sensor electrodes, a second pad ofthe plurality of pads is configured to be coupled to a second sensorelectrode of the plurality of sensor electrodes, and a third pad of theplurality of pads is configured to be coupled to a third sensorelectrode of the plurality of sensor electrodes. The sensor buscomprises a plurality of wires. A first wire of the plurality of wiresis configured to couple the first pad and the second pad to a firsttransmitter of the sensor circuitry and a second wire of the pluralityof wires is coupled to the third pad to a first receiver of the sensorcircuitry.

In one embodiment, a method for capacitive sensing comprises driving,with a first transmitter, a first sensor electrode and a second sensorelectrode with a first transmitter signal. The first sensor electrode iscoupled to a first pad of a semiconductor device and the second sensorelectrode is coupled to a second pad of the semiconductor device.Further, the first pad and the second pad are coupled to a first wire ofa sensor bus of the semiconductor device and the first wire is coupledto the first transmitter. The method further comprises receiving, with afirst receiver, a first resulting signal with a third sensor electrodecoupled to a third pad of the semiconductor device. The third pad iscoupled to a second wire of the sensor bus, and the second wire iscoupled to the first receiver. Additionally, the method comprisesdetermining positional information for an input object based on ameasurement of a change in capacitive coupling between at least one ofthe first sensor electrode and the second sensor electrode and the thirdsensor electrode.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features of the presentdisclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description ofthe disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference toembodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Itis to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate onlyexemplary embodiments, and are therefore not to be considered limitingof inventive scope, as the disclosure may admit to other equallyeffective embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example input device, according to one or moreembodiments.

FIGS. 2A-2B are schematic block diagrams of example semiconductordevices, according to one or more embodiments.

FIGS. 3A-3D are schematic block diagrams of example input devices,according to one or more embodiments.

FIGS. 4-5 are schematic block diagrams of example semiconductor devices,according to one or more embodiments.

FIGS. 6-7 are schematic block diagrams of example sensor electrodelayouts, according to one or more embodiments

FIG. 8A illustrates a portion of sensor electrodes, according to one ormore embodiments.

FIG. 8B illustrates is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a displaypanel, according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of an example input device,according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an examplesemiconductor device, according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of a method for capacitive sensing, accordingto one or more embodiments.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in oneembodiment may be beneficially utilized on other embodiments withoutspecific recitation. The drawings referred to here should not beunderstood as being drawn to scale unless specifically noted. Also, thedrawings are often simplified and details or components omitted forclarity of presentation and explanation. The drawings and discussionserve to explain principles discussed below, where like designationsdenote like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and isnot intended to limit the disclosure or the application and uses of thedisclosure. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by anyexpressed or implied theory presented in the preceding background,summary, or the following detailed description.

An example input device 100 as shown in FIG. 1 in accordance withembodiments of the disclosure may be configured to provide input to anelectronic system (not shown). As used in this document, the term“electronic system” broadly refers to any system capable ofelectronically processing information. Some non-limiting examples ofelectronic systems include personal computers of all sizes and shapes,such as desktop computers, laptop computers, netbook computers, tablets,web browsers, e-book readers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) andmulti-media entertainment devices of automobiles. Additional exampleelectronic systems include composite input devices, such as physicalkeyboards that include input device 100 and separate joysticks or keyswitches. Further example electronic systems include peripherals such asdata input devices, e.g., remote controllers and mice, and data outputdevices, e.g., display screens and printers. Other examples includeremote terminals, kiosks, and video game machines, e.g., video gameconsoles, portable gaming devices, and the like. Other examples includecommunication devices, e.g., cellular phones such as smart phones, andmedia devices, e.g., recorders, editors, and players such astelevisions, set-top boxes, music players, digital photo frames, anddigital cameras. Additionally, the electronic system could be a host ora slave to the input device. The electronic system may also be referredto as electronic device.

The input device 100 can be implemented as a physical part of theelectronic system, or can be physically separate from the electronicsystem. In one embodiment, the electronic system may be referred to as ahost device. As appropriate, the input device 100 may communicate withparts of the electronic system using any one or more of the following:buses, networks, and other wired or wireless interconnections. Examplesinclude I²C, SPI, PS/2, Universal Serial Bus (USB), MIPI, DisplayPort,Bluetooth, RF, and IRDA.

In FIG. 1, the input device 100 is shown as a proximity sensor deviceconfigured to sense input provided by one or more input objects 140 in asensing region 120. Example input objects 140 include fingers and styli,as shown in FIG. 1. An exemplary proximity sensor device may be atouchpad, a touch screen, a touch sensor device and the like.

The sensing region 120 encompasses any space above, around, in and/ornear the input device 100 in which the input device 100 is able todetect user input, e.g., user input provided by one or more inputobjects 140. The sizes, shapes, and locations of particular sensingregions may vary widely from embodiment to embodiment. In someembodiments, the sensing region 120 extends from a surface of the inputdevice 100 in one or more directions into space until signal-to-noiseratios prevent sufficiently accurate object detection. The distance towhich this sensing region 120 extends in a particular direction, invarious embodiments, may be on the order of less than a millimeter,millimeters, centimeters, or more, and may vary significantly with thetype of sensing technology used and the accuracy desired. Thus, someembodiment's sense input that comprises: no contact with any surfaces ofthe input device 100; contact with an input surface, e.g., a touchsurface, of the input device 100: contact with an input surface of theinput device 100 coupled with some amount of applied force or pressure;and/or a combination thereof. In various embodiments, input surfaces maybe provided by surfaces of casings within which the sensor electrodes(also referred to herein as sensing electrodes) reside, by face sheetsapplied over the sensor electrodes or any casings, etc. In someembodiments, the sensing region 120 has a rectangular shape whenprojected onto an input surface of the input device 100. An input objectthat is not in contact with any surfaces of the input device 100 may bereferred to as a hovering input object.

The input device 100 may utilize any combination of sensor componentsand sensing technologies to detect user input in the sensing region 120.The input device 100 comprises one or more sensing elements fordetecting user input. As several non-limiting examples, the input device100 may use capacitive, elastive, resistive, inductive, magnetic,acoustic, ultrasonic, and/or optical techniques.

Some implementations are configured to provide images (e.g., ofcapacitive signals) that span one, two, three, or higher dimensionalspaces. Some implementations are configured to provide projections ofinput along particular axes or planes.

In some capacitive implementations of the input device 100, voltage orcurrent is applied to create an electric field. Nearby input objectscause changes in the electric field, and produce detectable changes incapacitive coupling that may be detected as changes in voltage, current,or the like.

Some capacitive implementations utilize arrays or other regular orirregular patterns of capacitive sensing elements to create electricfields. In some capacitive implementations, separate sensing elementsmay be ohmically shorted together to form larger sensor electrodes. Somecapacitive implementations utilize resistive sheets, which may beuniformly resistive.

Some capacitive implementations utilize “self-capacitance” (also oftenreferred to as “absolute capacitance”) sensing methods based on changesin the capacitive coupling between sensor electrodes and an inputobject. In various embodiments, an input object near the sensorelectrodes alters the electric field near the sensor electrodes, thuschanging the measured capacitive coupling. In one implementation, anabsolute capacitance sensing method operates by modulating sensorelectrodes with respect to a reference voltage, e.g., system ground, andby detecting the capacitive coupling between the sensor electrodes andinput objects. In some implementations sensing elements may be formed ofa substantially transparent metal mesh (e.g., a reflective or absorbingmetallic film patterned to minimize visible transmission loss from thedisplay sub-pixels) within the visible active area of the display.Further, the sensor electrodes may be disposed over a display of adisplay device. The sensing electrodes may be formed on a commonsubstrate of a display device (e.g., on the encapsulation layer of arigid or flexible organic light emitting diode (OLED) display). Anadditional dielectric layer with vias for a jumper layer may also beformed of an additional substantially transparent metal mesh material(e.g., between the user input and an OLED cathode). The jumpers of thejumper layer may be coupled to the electrodes of a first group and crossover sensor electrodes of a second group (e.g. in a two-layer sensorwhere one group of sensor electrodes is arrayed substantially orthogonalto a second group of sensor electrodes. In another single layer sensorrouting implementation, any jumper layer does not connect to a via inthe active area of the display.

Some capacitive implementations utilize “mutual capacitance” (also oftenreferred to as “transcapacitance”) sensing methods based on changes inthe capacitive coupling between sensor electrodes. In variousembodiments, an input object near the sensor electrodes alters theelectric field between the sensor electrodes, thus changing the measuredcapacitive coupling. In one implementation, a transcapacitive sensingmethod operates by detecting the capacitive coupling between one or moretransmitter sensor electrodes (also referred to herein as “transmitterelectrodes” or “transmitters”) and one or more receiver sensorelectrodes (also referred to herein as “receiver electrodes” or“receivers”). The coupling may be reduced when an input object coupledto a system ground approaches the sensor electrodes. Transmitter sensorelectrodes may be modulated relative to a reference voltage, e.g.,system ground, to transmit transcapacitive sensing signals. Receiversensor electrodes may be held substantially constant relative to thereference voltage or modulated relative to the transmitter sensorelectrodes to facilitate receipt of resulting signals. A resultingsignal may comprise effect(s) corresponding to one or moretranscapacitive sensing signals, and/or to one or more sources ofenvironmental interference, e.g., other electromagnetic signals. Sensorelectrodes may be dedicated transmitters or receivers, or may beconfigured to both transmit and receive.

In one or more embodiments, a group of transmitter electrodes may bearrayed substantially parallel (e.g., with the data lines 322 of FIG.3C) while a group of receiver electrodes are arrayed parallel to eachother, but orthogonal to the first group (e.g. parallel with gate lines331 of FIG. 3C). In some embodiments, one or more transmitter orreceiver electrodes may be “double routed” by connecting both ends ofthe sensor electrode (e.g., near end and far end) by a route external tothe display active area so as to reduce the effective resistance of theelectrode and improve response time of the sensor electrode.

In FIG. 1, a processing system 110 is shown as part of the input device100. The processing system 110 is configured to operate the hardware ofthe input device 100 to detect input in the sensing region 120. Theprocessing system 110 comprises parts of or all of one or moreintegrated circuits (ICs) chips and/or other circuitry components. Forexample, a processing system for a mutual capacitance sensor device maycomprise transmitter circuitry, e.g., transmitter circuitry 257 of FIG.2A, configured to transmit signals with transmitter sensor electrodes,and/or receiver circuitry, e.g., receiver circuitry 258, configured toreceive signals with receiver sensor electrodes. In some embodiments,the processing system 110 also comprises electronically-readableinstructions, such as firmware code, software code, and/or the like. Insome embodiments, components composing the processing system 110 arelocated together, such as near sensing element(s) of the input device100. In other embodiments, components of processing system 110 arephysically separate with one or more components close to sensingelement(s) of input device 100, and one or more components elsewhere.For example, the input device 100 may be a peripheral coupled to adesktop computer, and the processing system 110 may comprise softwareconfigured to run on a central processing unit of the desktop computerand one or more ICs (in another embodiment, with associated firmware)separate from the central processing unit. As another example, the inputdevice 100 may be physically integrated in a phone, and the processingsystem 110 may comprise circuits and firmware that are part of a mainprocessor (e.g., a mobile device application processor or any othercentral processing unit) of the phone. In some embodiments, theprocessing system 110 is dedicated to implementing the input device 100.In other embodiments, the processing system 110 also performs otherfunctions, such as operating display screens, driving haptic actuators,etc.

The processing system 110 may be implemented as a set of modules thathandle different functions of the processing system 110. Each module maycomprise circuitry that is a part of the processing system 110,firmware, software, or a combination thereof. In various embodiments,different combinations of modules may be used.

In some embodiments, the processing system 110 responds to user input(or lack of user input) in the sensing region 120 directly by causingone or more actions. Example actions include changing operation modes,as well as GUI actions such as cursor movement, selection, menunavigation, and other functions. In some embodiments, the processingsystem 110 provides information about the input (or lack of input) tosome part of the electronic system, e.g., to a central processing systemof the electronic system that is separate from the processing system110, if such a separate central processing system exists. In someembodiments, some part of the electronic system processes informationreceived from the processing system 110 to act on user input, such as tofacilitate a full range of actions, including mode changing actions andGUI actions.

For example, in some embodiments, the processing system 110 operates thesensing element(s) of the input device 100 to produce electrical signalsindicative of input (or lack of input) in the sensing region 120. Theprocessing system 110 may perform any appropriate amount of processingon the electrical signals in producing the information provided to theelectronic system. For example, the processing system 110 may digitizeanalog electrical signals obtained from the sensor electrodes. Asanother example, the processing system 110 may perform filtering orother signal conditioning. The filtering may comprise one or more ofdemodulating, sampling, weighting, and accumulating of analog ordigitally converted signals (e.g., for FIR digital or IIR switchedcapacitor filtering) at appropriate sensing times. The sensing times maybe relative to (e.g., phase synchronous with or time sequential with)the display output periods (e.g., display line update periods orblanking periods). As yet another example, the processing system 110 maysubtract or otherwise account for a baseline, such that the informationreflects a difference between the electrical signals from user input andthe baseline signals. A baseline may account for display update signals(e.g., subpixel data signal, gate select and deselect signal, oremission control signal) which are spatially filtered (e.g., demodulatedand accumulated) and removed from the lower spatial frequency sensingbaseline. Further, a baseline may compensate for a capacitive couplingbetween the sensor electrodes and one or more nearby electrodes. Thenearby electrodes may be display electrodes, dummy sensor electrodes,and or other conductive objects that may be capacitively coupled withthe sensor electrodes. Additionally, the baseline may be compensated forusing digital or analog means. As yet further examples, the processingsystem 110 may determine positional information, recognize inputs ascommands, recognize handwriting, and the like.

“Positional information” as used herein broadly encompasses absoluteposition, relative position, velocity, acceleration, and other types ofspatial information. Exemplary “zero-dimensional” positional informationincludes near/far or contact/no contact information. Exemplary“one-dimensional” positional information includes positions along anaxis. Exemplary “two-dimensional” positional information includesmotions in a plane. Exemplary “three-dimensional” positional informationincludes instantaneous or average velocities in space. Further examplesinclude other representations of spatial information. Historical dataregarding one or more types of positional information may also bedetermined and/or stored, including, for example, historical data thattracks position, motion, or instantaneous velocity over time.

In some embodiments, the input device 100 is implemented with additionalinput components that are operated by the processing system 110 or bysome other processing system. These additional input components mayprovide redundant functionality for input in the sensing region 120, orsome other functionality. FIG. 1 shows buttons 130 near the sensingregion 120 that can be used to facilitate selection of items using theinput device 100. Other types of additional input components includesliders, balls, wheels, switches, and the like. Conversely, in someembodiments, the input device 100 may be implemented with no other inputcomponents.

In some embodiments, the input device 100 comprises a touch screeninterface, and the sensing region 120 overlaps at least part of adisplay screen. For example, the sensing region 120 may overlap at leasta portion of an active area of a display screen (or display panel). Theactive area of the display panel may correspond to a portion of thedisplay panel where images are updated. In one or more embodiments, theinput device 100 may comprise substantially transparent sensorelectrodes overlaying the display screen and provide a touch screeninterface for the associated electronic system. The display panel may beany type of dynamic display capable of displaying a visual interface toa user, and may include any type of light emitting diode (LED), OLED,liquid crystal display (LCD), plasma, electroluminescence (EL), or otherdisplay technology. The input device 100 and the display panel may sharephysical elements. For example, some embodiments may utilize some of thesame electrical components for displaying and sensing. As anotherexample, the display panel may be operated in part or in total by theprocessing system 110.

It should be understood that while many embodiments of the disclosureare described in the context of a fully functioning apparatus, themechanisms of the present disclosure are capable of being distributed asa program product, e.g., software, in a variety of forms. For example,the mechanisms of the present disclosure may be implemented anddistributed as a software program on information bearing media that arereadable by electronic processors, e.g., non-transitorycomputer-readable and/or recordable/writable information bearing mediareadable by the processing system 110. Additionally, the embodiments ofthe present disclosure apply equally regardless of the particular typeof medium used to carry out the distribution. Examples ofnon-transitory, electronically readable media include various discs,memory sticks, memory cards, memory modules, and the like.Electronically readable media may be based on flash, optical, magnetic,holographic, or any other storage technology.

In one or more embodiments, the processing system 110 may be configuredfor display updating and capacitive sensing. For example, the processingsystem 110 may include display driver circuitry, e.g., display circuitry254 of FIG. 2A, configured to drive one or more display electrodes fordisplay updating and sensor circuitry, e.g., sensor circuitry 252 ofFIG. 2A, configured to operate one or more sensor electrodes forcapacitive sensing. Alternatively, the processing system 110 may beconfigured for one of display updating and capacitive sensing. Forexample, the processing system 110 may include display driver circuitry,e.g., display circuitry 254 of FIG. 2A, configured to drive one or moredisplay electrodes for display updating or sensor circuitry, e.g.,sensor circuitry 252 of FIG. 2A, configured to operate one or moresensor electrodes for capacitive sensing.

FIG. 2A illustrates schematic cross-sectional view of a semiconductordevice 200, according to one or more embodiments. In one or moreembodiments, the semiconductor device 200 is the semiconductor device ofthe processing system 110. The semiconductor device 200 includes diebody 205 and the die body 205 includes one or more of a substrate 210, afront-end-of-line (FEOL) portion 220, a back-end-of-line (BEOL) portion230, and an interconnect layer 240. The interconnect layer 240 includesone or more of a redistribution layer (RDL) and one or more metallayers. The one or more metal layers may be disposed between the BEOLportion 230 and the RDL. The FEOL portion 220 may include transistors,capacitors, and/or resistors, among others, of the semiconductor device200. Further, the BEOL portion 230 may include the interconnectionsbetween the transistors, capacitors and/or resistors of the FEOL portion220. The RDL includes one or more metal layers including pads 260 andinterconnects between the pads 260 and the BEOL portion 230.

In one or more embodiments, the sensor circuitry 252 is included withinthe FEOL portion 220 and the BEOL portion 230. Further, the displaycircuitry 254 may be included within the FEOL portion 220 and the BEOLportion 230.

The semiconductor device 200 may additionally include a sensor bus 256.The sensor bus 256 may include one or more communication wires disposedwithin the interconnect layer 240. In one embodiment, a first portion ofthe sensor bus 256 is disposed within a first portion of theinterconnect layer 240 and a second portion of the sensor bus isdisposed within a second portion of the interconnect layer 240. Thefirst portion of the interconnect layer 240 may correspond to the RDLand the second portion of the interconnect layer 240 may correspond toone or more metal layers. Alternatively, the sensor bus 256 may bedisposed within the RDL or in the one or more metal layers. Further, inone or more embodiments, the sensor bus 256 may be disposed in the BEOLportion 230, or partially within the BEOL portion 230 and interconnectlayer 240. The sensor bus 256 couples the sensor circuitry 252 to aportion of the pads 260, e.g., the pads 260 a. Further, in embodimentsincluding the display circuitry 254, the display circuitry 254 iscoupled to the pads 260 b of pads 260.

FIG. 2B is a top schematic view of the semiconductor device 200,according to one or more embodiments. In the embodiment of FIG. 2B, theelements are illustrated as being in a common layer for ease ofillustration. However, in various embodiments, the sensor circuitry 252,the display circuitry 254, the pads 260, the sensor bus 256, and thepads 270 may be disposed in various different layers as illustrated inFIG. 2A. The pads 260 may be referred to as output pads as sensingsignals are transmitted from the sensor circuitry 252 via one or morethe pads 260 onto one or more sensor electrodes. Further, one or more ofthe pads 260 may be configured to output display update signals and/ordisplay control signals onto display electrodes driven by the displaycircuitry 254. In one or more embodiments, the pads 270 are configuredto receive data and control signals from a host device.

In various embodiments, the sensor bus 256 may be positioned between thepads 260 and the pads 270. For example, the sensor bus 256 may bedisposed in a different layer from the pads 260 and the pads 270, andpositioned between the pads 260 and the pads 270 in the Y direction. Thepads may be composed of Au (Gold) or Cu (Copper) bumps used to connectother substrates such as COF (Chip on Film), COG (Chip on Glass), or COP(Chip on Plastic) using ACF (Anisotropic Conductive Film) eutectic bondsor other conductive contacts to the display.

In one or more embodiments, the pads 260, 270 couple the semiconductordevice 200 to an electronic device. For example, with reference to FIG.3A, the pads 260, 270 may be coupled to pads 360, 370, respectively, ofthe display device 300. The pads 360, 370 may be disposed on thesubstrate 310 of the display device 300. Further, the pads 360 arecoupled to one or more metal layers 320 on the substrate 310 which arecoupled display electrodes 330 and/or sensor electrodes 340. The metallayers 320 may include one or more traces which couple the pads 360 withthe display electrodes 330 and/or the sensor electrodes 340. In oneembodiment, a polarizer is disposed over at least one of the displayelectrodes 330 and the sensor electrodes 340. Further, in one or moreembodiments, an encapsulation layer may be disposed between the sensorelectrodes 340 and the display electrodes 350 within the active area ofthe display device 300. The active area of the display device 300corresponds to an area of the display device 300 where an image isdisplayed and updated.

In one embodiment, a flexible connector 375 is coupled to the substrate310 of the display device 300. The flexible connector 375 may be coupledto a host device and is configured to communicatively couple thesemiconductor device 200 with the host device. For example, the flexibleconnector 375 may carry signals from the host device to thesemiconductor device 200 via the pads 270, 370 and from thesemiconductor device 200 to the host device via the pads 270, 370. Inone embodiment, the flexible connector 375 is configured to carrydisplay data signals from the host device to the semiconductor device200 and carry output signals, e.g., positional information of an inputobject, status signals, etc., from the semiconductor device 200 to thehost device. In one embodiment, the portion of the substrate 310 b andthe semiconductor device 200 may be folded under the portion of thesubstrate 310 a and the display panel 305. In various embodiment, thesemiconductor device 200 may be disposed on a flexible substrate, e.g.,a flexible connector, which is then coupled to the substrate 310 b ofthe display panel 305.

FIG. 3B is a top view of a schematic of the input device 100, accordingto one or more embodiments. As is illustrated, the input device 100includes the display device 300 and the display device 300 includes theprocessing system 110, the display panel 305 and sensor electrodes 340.The sensor electrodes 340 for a capacitive sensor routed in single layermay be arranged in columns (e.g., 342 a, 342 b, 342 c, 342 d) such thatthe transmitter electrodes of each row on multiple columns areconductively coupled and driven by the same sensing circuitry on theprocessing system 110 but through separate output pads. In oneembodiment, the edge 347 of the sensing region (e.g., the edge closestto the processing system 110) may contain the majority of routing. Inone or more embodiments, the edge 349 of the sensing region may also beused for additional routing. In some cases, one or more of theelectrodes may be “double routed” by an edge route (e.g., 345) tominimize resistance and response time. The display panel 305 iscommunicatively coupled to the processing system 110 and comprisesdisplay electrodes 330. In one or more embodiments, the displayelectrodes 330 include one or more of gate lines, data lines, e.g., datalines, subpixel electrodes, emission control lines, and a cathodeelectrode, among others. Further, the input device 100 includes thesensor electrodes 340 are coupled to the processing system 110 andinclude one or more sensor electrodes.

In one or more embodiments, a sensor bus on an integrated circuit (IC)chip configured for the proximity sensor reduces routing on acorresponding display substrate by coupling multiple output pads of theIC chip to a single bus line at a finer pitch than allowed on thedisplay substrate. The reduced routing may improve industrial design andreduce cost by minimizing the distance between the active area of thedisplay device, the routing for sensor electrodes and the proximitysensor, and the IC chip.

In one or more embodiments, the processing system 110 may include thesensor circuitry 252, the display circuitry 254 and a determinationmodule 390. The determination module 390 may determine one or moremeasurements of change in capacitance of the sensor electrodes 340. Thedetermination module 390 may further determine positional informationfor an input object 140. In one embodiment, the determination module 390receives processed or unprocessed resulting signals from the sensorcircuitry 252, determines one or more measurements of change incapacitance between the sensor electrodes 340, and determines positionalinformation for one or more input objects, e.g., the input object 140,from the one or more measurements of change in capacitance. In variousembodiments, determining the positional information comprisesdetermining a capacitive image from the one or more measurements ofchange in capacitance and determining the positional information fromthe capacitive image.

In one embodiment, display device 300 may be organic light emittingdiode (OLED) display comprising a plurality of subpixels. Each subpixelincludes display circuitry, and is coupled to a data line (may also bereferred to as a source electrode, data line or a data electrode), agate line (may also be referred to as a gate electrode or a lineselection electrode), and, in some embodiments, an emission control line(may also be referred to as an emission control electrode). The displaycircuitry, the data line and the gate line that are configured tocontrol updating of each of the subpixels.

For example, FIG. 3C is a schematic top view of a portion of displaydevice 300 where each subpixel 333 is coupled to a gate line 331 and adata line 332. In one embodiment, selection circuitry 324 is configuredto drive gate select and gate deselect signals on to the gate lines 331to select (active) and deselect (deactivate) the subpixels 333 forupdating. The gate select signal may be referred to a gate high signalor VGH and the gate deselect signal may be referred to a gate low signalor VGL. In one embodiment, VGH is a positive voltage and VGL is anegative voltage. Further, VGH and VGL correspond to the turn-on andturn-off voltages of the transistors of the subpixels configured tocontrol activation and deactivation of the subpixels 333. In one exampleembodiment, VGH is about 15 V and VGL is about −10 V. However, othervoltages may be used. In one or more embodiments, each of the gate lines331 may be coupled to a respective one of the rows of subpixels 333. Inone or more embodiments, at least two gate lines 331 are coupled todifferent ones of the subpixel 333 of a common row.

The gate line signals may be controlled by gate selection circuitry 306.The gate selection circuitry 306 may include one more shift registersand may be coupled to the display circuitry 254 via communication path.The display circuitry 254 may provide one or more clock signals and agate control signal to the gate selection circuitry 306, and the gateselection circuitry 306 may utilize the one or more clock signal toselect and deselect gate lines for updating. The clock signals may alsobe, or alternatively, utilized to control display line update timingand/or display frame blanking timing. Further emission control signalsmay be generated by emission control circuitry 307. The emission controlcircuitry 307 may be controlled via one or more clock signals providedby the display circuitry 254 via the communication path 308. Theemission control circuitry 307 may include one or more shift registers.Additionally, the emission control circuitry may be coupled to emissionlines 334 and drive an emission control signal on the emission lines 334to control a brightness level of the subpixels 333.

The gate selection circuitry 306 and/or the emission control circuitrymaybe disposed along one or more edges of the display panel 305. Forexample, the gate selection circuitry may be disposed along a first edgeand the emission control circuitry 307 may be disposed along a secondedge of the display panel 305.

Each of the data lines 332 are coupled to a column of subpixels and areconfigured to drive a subpixel data signal onto each of the subpixels.For example, a subpixel 333 that has been selected for updating byselection circuitry 324 may be driven with a subpixel data signal by thedisplay circuitry 254 via a corresponding one of the data lines 332. Inone embodiment, the subpixel data signal is a voltage signal and chargesa storage capacitor of the subpixel 333 to a predetermined voltage levelcorresponding to a brightness level.

Each of the data lines 332 may be simultaneously driven with acorresponding subpixel data signal to simultaneously update eachselected (e.g., activated) subpixel along a selected gate electrode. Thedisplay circuitry 254 may include source drivers 255 that are eachcoupled to a respective one of data lines 332. The source drivers 255may include one or more amplifiers and other drive circuitry configuredto drive a corresponding voltage signal on to an activated subpixel. Thedrive circuitry may include one or more linear or non-linear digital toanalog converters. In one or more embodiments, the display circuitry 254may additionally include hardware and firmware elements configured toreceive display data from a host device, and process the display data togenerate the subpixel data signals. The subpixel data lines 332 may bedriven on the data lines 332 to update the subpixels 333. For example,the display circuitry 254 may include a mobile industry processorinterface (MIPI) receiver. Further, the display circuitry 254 mayinclude timing control circuitry configured to generate timing signalsused for updating the display panel 305. The timing signals may includeselection circuitry clock signals.

In one embodiment, the period corresponding to when each subpixelcoupled to a gate line 331 and/or in a common row is updated may bereferred to a display line update period. Further, each row of subpixelsmay be referred to as a display line (e.g., selected by a gateelectrode). The portion the display selected for updating may zig-zag orbe coupled to alternate sides of a gate line 331 to cover varioussub-pixel arrangements. One or more gate lines 331 may be utilized toselect the portion of display for updating. Further, a column may beconnected to a single data line 332 which may zig-zag over the displaypanel 305 or alternate sides of the data line 332 may provideconnections to provide updates for a particular pattern of the subpixels333.

In one embodiment, the display panel 305 includes more data lines 332than gate lines 331. For example, a high definition display panel mayinclude about 1080 gate lines and about 5760 data lines. The number ofgate lines 331 and data lines 332 may correspond to the resolutionand/or orientation of the display panel, the number of subpixels perpixel, any multiplexing of the data lines, and the orientation ofsubpixels within the display panel. In one or more embodiments, the gatelines 331 may be driven by a shift register and clocked with a reducednumber of clock lines to reduce routing area and improve industrialdesign. Further, in one or more embodiments, the data lines 332 may bemultiplexed (e.g., selected and deselected).

FIG. 3D is an example partial side view of the display panel 305. In theillustrated embodiment the display panel 305 includes substrate 310, thegate lines 331, the data lines 332, subpixel circuitry 336, anodeelectrodes 337, organic layers 338 and cathode electrode 339. In oneembodiment, the gate lines 331 and data lines 332 may be disposed withindifferent metal layers, and the position of those metal layers maydiffer from what is shown in FIG. 3D. For example, in differentembodiments, gate lines 331 may be deposed in a metal layer either aboveor below the metal layer of data lines 332.

The substrate 310 may be a glass substrate or a plastic substrate. Inone embodiment, the substrate 310 is substantially rigid. In otherembodiments, substrate 310 is flexible. Further, a display panel may bemanufactured and initially patterned and processed as a sheet on a rigidsubstrate before singulation and release for assembly into a displaymodule via a flexible substrate 310.

The subpixel circuitry 336 comprises one or more transistors configuredto control the activation and deactivation of each subpixel 333 andcurrent flow through each subpixel 333 for updating of subpixel 333. Thesubpixel circuitry 336 for each subpixel is coupled to a correspondinggate line 331, data line 332 and anode electrode 337. Further, thesubpixel circuitry 336 may be configured to control the flow of currentonto a corresponding anode electrode 337 from a cathode through an OLED.In one embodiment, the subpixel circuitry 336 for a subpixel isconfigured to couple a corresponding anode electrode 337 with thesubpixel data signal on a corresponding data line 332. For example, thesubpixel circuitry controls the voltage across a storage capacitor of acorresponding subpixel, and the storage capacitor controls thetransistor (e.g., drive) current of the subpixel circuitry. Further, thesubpixel circuitry 336 for a subpixel may be configured to couple acorresponding anode electrode 337 with an initialization voltage beforecoupling a corresponding anode electrode 337 with the subpixel datasignal. The subpixel circuitry 336 may be composed of one or more ThinFilm Transistors (TFT). The TFTs may be formed of one or more of lowtemperature poly-silicon, oxide semiconductors, or amorphous siliconmaterials. Further, the subpixel circuitry 336 may include one or moreemission control transistor(s) configured to isolate a correspondingOLED to prevent current flow during the subpixel update process.Updating the subpixels 333 may include charging of the correspondingstorage capacitor and/or offset compensation. In one or moreembodiments, isolation may be provided by the emission lines 334.

The cathode electrode 339 may be a sheet of resistive materialconfigured to overlap one or more of the subpixels 333. In oneembodiment, the display panel 305 includes a single cathode electrode339 that is disposed over each of the subpixels 333. In one or moreembodiment, the cathode electrode 339 is a resistive sheet having aresistance of about 1 to about 20 ohms per square. The cathode electrode339 may be coupled with and driven by the display circuitry 254 tosupply a low impedance reference voltage. In one embodiment the voltageacross a sub-pixel and the current to the cathode electrode 339 from theanode electrode 337 corresponds to the amount of light that is emittedby each subpixel 333. The current may be controlled by a one or morefield effect transistors (e.g., as a controlled current source) tominimize the effect of any variation in diode forward voltage, orresistive supply voltage drop in the display panel 305. Further, thecathode electrode 339 is electrically separated from the anode electrode337 by one or more organic layers 338, forming the OLEDs.

In one embodiment, the display circuitry 254 utilizes an emissioncontrol signal to control the brightness, or control the dimming, ofeach subpixel 333. For example, the emission control signal may be apulse width modulated (PWM) signal, and the brightness of each subpixel333 may correspond to a duty cycle of the PWM signal. In one embodiment,the greater the duty cycle of the emission control signal, the brightereach of the subpixels 333 will be. For example, for an emission controlsignal having a duty cycle of 50%, the resulting brightness for each ofthe subpixels will be about 50% of the maximum brightness (e.g., for100% duty cycle). In one embodiment, the emission control signal isdriven onto each emission control line 335 coupled in a scanning fashionsuch that one or more rows of subpixels 333 are driven at a time withemission control signal. For example, the emission control signals maybe driven by emission control circuitry by clocking the shift registeror registers of the emission control signal with a clock signal todeselect display lines. Clocking the shift registers may be referred toas applying “walking ones” to the shift register or registers of theemission control circuitry. Further, deselecting the display lines withthe emission control circuitry may stop current from flowing through thedisplay line(s). Further, in various embodiments, a first emissioncontrol signal may be driven onto a first group of subpixels 333 via acorresponding first group of emission control lines 335 and a secondemission control signal may be driven onto a second group of subpixels333 via a corresponding second group of emission control lines 335. Inother embodiments, more than two groups of consecutive subpixels ofsubpixels 333 and corresponding groups of consecutive emission controllines 335 may be utilized. For example, consecutive subpixels may bedriven by a common shift register of the emission control circuitryclocked by the display circuitry 254 to increase the “flicker” frequencyof the PWM. In one embodiment, the emission control lines may also becontrolled using a small number of clock signals through a shiftregister to reduce on routing outside of the active area of the displaydevice 300.

In one embodiment, the display circuitry 254 is configured to increaseand/or decrease the brightness of the display panel by increasing and/ordecreasing the duty cycle of the emission control signal. Further, byscanning the emission control signal across the display rows displayartifacts may be reduced.

The display circuitry 254 is configured to update subpixels 333 toupdate an image displayed on the display panel 305 during displayframes. The display frames may be updated, or refreshed, once aboutevery 16 ms, generating a display refresh rate of 60 Hz. In otherembodiments, other display refresh rates may be employed. For example,the display refresh rate may be 90 Hz, 120 Hz, 240 Hz, or greater. Inone embodiment, each display frame includes one or more subframes.

The display circuitry 254 may generate timing signals such as a verticalsync (VSYNC) signal to start and/or end a display frame. In oneembodiment, the VSYNC signal is provided to selection circuitry 324 toprovide an indication to the selection circuitry 324 to begin selectionof the gate lines 331 for display updating. In one embodiment, the VSYNCsignal may additionally or alternatively identify one or more verticalblanking periods within a display frame. For example, the VSYNC signalmay be utilized to reset one or more shift register of the selectioncircuitry.

The display circuitry 254 may additionally generate a timing signal suchas a horizontal sync (HSYNC) signal that corresponds to the start of adisplay line update period and/or to an end of a display line updateperiod. An end of a display line update period may correspond to a cycleof the gate selection circuitry control signals provided by the displaycircuitry 254. The display circuitry 254 may output HSYNC signal toselection circuitry 324 to control selection and deselection of gatelines 331. In one embodiment, the horizontal sync signal mayadditionally or alternatively identify one or more blanking periods thatcorrespond to a display line update period.

In one embodiment, the display circuitry 254 utilizes a timing signalsuch as a display enable signal received from a host device that may bea composite signal of both the HSYNC and VSYNC signals, and may identifythe start time of a display frame, an end time of a display frame,horizontal blanking periods corresponding to a display line updateperiod, and/or vertical blanking periods within a display frame. In oneembodiment, only a portion of the subpixels 333 may be updated duringeach display frame. For example, the portions of the subpixels 333determined to have not changed from display frame to display frame maynot be updated.

FIG. 4 illustrates partial schematic view of the semiconductor device200, according to one or more embodiments. In the embodiment of FIG. 4,the semiconductor device 200 includes the sensor circuitry 252, thedisplay circuitry 254, and the sensor bus 256. Further, in theembodiment of FIG. 4, the sensor circuitry 252, the display circuitry254, and the sensor bus 256 are illustrated as being in a single layerfor illustration purposes. For example, in various embodiments, e.g., asis illustrated in FIG. 2A, the sensor circuitry 252, the displaycircuitry 254, and the sensor bus 256 may be located within two or morelayers of the semiconductor device 200.

The display circuitry 254 may be disposed between a first portion of thesensor circuitry 252 and a second portion of the sensor circuitry 252 inthe X direction. For example, the first portion of the sensor circuitry252 may be disposed proximate edge 410 of the semiconductor device 200and the second portion of the sensor circuitry 252 may be disposedproximate edge 420 of the semiconductor device 200. In one embodiment,the first portion of the sensor circuitry 252 may include transmittercircuitry 257 and the second portion of the sensor circuitry 252 mayinclude receiver circuitry 258. In another embodiment, the first portionof the sensor circuitry 252 may include receiver circuitry 258 and thesecond portion of the sensor circuitry 252 may include transmittercircuitry 257. Further, in one embodiment, the first portion of thesensor circuitry 252 includes both receiver circuitry 258 andtransmitter circuitry 257 and/or the second portion of the sensorcircuitry 252 includes both receiver circuitry 258 and/or transmittercircuitry 257. The transmitter circuitry 257 includes one or moretransmitters, e.g., drivers, configured to drive a modulated signal,e.g., a sensing signal, on a sensor electrode. The receiver circuitry258 includes one or more receivers configured to receive a resultingsignal. The one or more receivers include one or more integrators,demodulators, sample-and-hold circuits, filters, etc. Further, thedisplay circuitry 254 may include one or more source drivers, clocksignal generators, etc.

In one or more embodiment, the sensor bus 256 couples pads 260 locatedat a first portion of the semiconductor device 200 with the sensorcircuitry 252 located at a second portion of the semiconductor device200. For example, the sensor bus 256 may couple a pad 260 locatedproximate edge 410 with the sensor circuitry located proximate edge 420.Further, the sensor bus 256 may couple a pad 260 located proximate edge420 with the sensor circuitry located proximate edge 410.

FIG. 5 illustrates a partial schematic top view of the semiconductordevice 200, according to one or more embodiments. In one embodiment,semiconductor device 200 includes the sensor circuitry 252, the displaycircuitry 254, and the sensor bus 256. Further, the sensor circuitry252, the display circuitry 254, and the sensor bus 256 are illustratedas being a single layer to for illustration purposes. For example, invarious embodiments, e.g., as is illustrated in FIG. 2A, the sensorcircuitry 252, the display circuitry 254, and the sensor bus 256 may belocated within two or more layers of the semiconductor device 200.

In one or more embodiments, the sensor circuitry 252 is disposed betweena first portion of the display circuitry 254 and a second portion of thedisplay circuitry 254 in the X direction. For example, the first portionof the display circuitry 254 may be disposed proximate edge 410 of thesemiconductor device 200 and the second portion of the display circuitry254 may be disposed proximate edge 420 of the semiconductor device 200.The sensor circuitry 252 may include transmitter circuitry 257 andreceiver circuitry 258.

In one or more embodiment, the sensor bus 256 couples pads 260 locatedat a first portion of the semiconductor device 200 with the sensorcircuitry 252 located at a second portion of the semiconductor device200. For example, the sensor bus 256 may couple a pad 260 locatedproximate edge 410 or edge 420 with the sensor circuitry locatedproximate the center of the semiconductor device 200.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a sensor electrode layout 600 and 700,respectively, according to one or more embodiments. Further, the sensorelectrodes 340 of sensor electrode layouts 600 and 700 include sensorelectrodes 610 and sensor electrodes 620. In one or more embodiments,the sensor electrodes 610 and the sensor electrodes 620 may be disposedin a common layer. In other embodiments, the sensor electrodes 610 maybe disposed in first layer, and the sensor electrodes 620 may be deposedin a second layer.

The sensor electrodes 610, 620 may have any shape, size and/ororientation. For example, the sensor electrodes 610, 620 may be arrangedin a two-dimensional array as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. In one ormore embodiments, each of the sensor electrodes 610, 620 may besubstantially rectangular in shape. In other embodiments, the sensorelectrodes 610, 620 may have other shapes. Further, each of the sensorelectrodes 610 and/or each of the sensor electrodes 620 may have thesame shape and/or size. In other embodiments, at least one sensorelectrode 610 and/or the sensor electrodes 620 may have a shape and/orsize different than another sensor electrode. In various embodiments,the sensor electrodes 610, 620 may be diamond shaped, haveinterdigitated fingers to increase field coupling, and/or have floatingcut-outs inside to reduce stray capacitance to nearby electricalconductors.

The sensor electrodes 610, 620 may be formed from a material or aconfiguration that is at least substantially transparent material. Forexample, the sensor electrodes 610, 620 may be formed from indium tinoxide (ITO), thin conductive wires, and wire mesh. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 8, the sensor electrodes 610 and 620 are formed frommetal mesh. Further, in the embodiment of FIG. 8A, the pattern of themetal mesh used to form the sensor electrodes 610 and 620 is alignedwith the boundaries of the subpixels 333 of the display device 300. Forexample, the distance between the conductive wires making up the metalmesh may vary to ensure that the wires of the metal mesh pattern do notoverlap the subpixels 333 of the display device 300. In one embodiment,the distance between wires of the metal mesh within region 820 is lessthan the distance between wires of the metal mesh with region 810, suchthat the subpixels 333 are not overlapped by the wires of the metal meshpattern. FIG. 8B is a schematic cross-sectional view of a portion of thedisplay panel 305, according to one or more embodiments. As illustratedin FIG. 8B, the sensor electrode 610 a, 620 does not overlap the viewingangle subpixel 333. In one embodiment, the gap between lines of the wiremesh forming the sensor electrodes 610, 620 are configured such that thewires do not overlap the subpixel 333.

The sensor circuitry 252 may be configured to operate the sensorelectrodes 610 and the sensor electrodes 620 to acquire sensor data. Forexample, the sensor circuitry may drive one or more of the sensorelectrodes 610 with a sensing signal while receiving resulting signalsfrom one or more of sensor electrodes 620. Alternatively, the sensorcircuitry may drive one or more of the sensor electrodes 620 with asensing signal while receiving resulting signals from one or more ofsensor electrodes 610. Further, the sensor circuitry 252 may drive oneor more of the sensor electrodes 610, 620 with a sensing signal whilereceiving resulting signals from the driven sensor electrode orelectrodes. The sensing signals may include transcapacitive sensingsignals for transcapacitive sensing and absolute capacitive sensingsignals for absolute capacitive sensing. In one embodiment, the sensorcircuitry 252 is configured to operate the sensor electrodes 610, 620for absolute capacitive sensing by driving one or more of the sensorelectrodes 610, 620 with absolute capacitive sensing signals whilereceiving resulting signals with the driven sensor electrodes. Further,the sensor circuitry 252 is configured to operate the sensor electrodes610, 620 for transcapacitive sensing by driving one or more of thesensor electrodes 610, 620 with a transcapacitive signal and receivingresulting signal from the other one or more of the sensor electrodes610, 620. In one embodiment, one or more transmitters of the transmittercircuitry 257 drives one or more of the sensor electrodes 610, 620 witha transcapacitive signal while one or more receivers of the receivercircuitry 258 receives resulting signals with a second one or more ofthe sensor electrodes 610, 620. The sensor electrodes 610, 620 drivenwith the transcapacitive signal may be referred to as a transmitterelectrode and the sensor electrodes 610, 620 operated to receiveresulting signals may be referred to as receiver electrodes. In oneembodiment, receiving the resulting signals may comprise sampling theresulting signals to generate one or more samples.

In one embodiment, the sensing signals may be a varying voltage signalthat varies between at least two voltages. In one embodiment, thesensing signal includes a plurality of sensing bursts. Each sensingbursts may include a plurality of voltage transitions. In one or moreembodiments, the sensor circuitry 252 may maintain the receiverelectrodes at a substantially constant voltage (e.g., relative to systemground) or modulate the receiver electrodes relative to the transmitterelectrodes. In one embodiment, when the receiver electrodes aremodulated (e.g., relative to system ground), the transmitter electrodesare modulated relative to the receiver electrodes, such that thetransmitter electrodes are modulated at a different phase, polarity,amplitude, and/or frequency than the receiver electrodes. The sensorcircuitry 252 receives resulting signals with the receiver electrodesand the determination module 390 measures the resulting signals todetermine a measurement of the change in capacitive coupling between thereceiver electrodes and the transmitter electrodes.

The sensor circuitry 252 may be configured to drive each of thetransmitter electrodes one at a time, or simultaneously drive at leasttwo of the transmitter electrodes. In one embodiment, the sensorcircuitry 252 is configured to simultaneously drive at least twotransmitter electrodes with different transcapacitive sensing signalsbased on different codes or frequencies. For example, multipletransmitter electrodes may be simultaneously driven with transcapacitivesensing signals which are modulated with substantially orthogonal codedsequences (e.g., amplitude shifted, phase shifted, frequency shifted).The corresponding resulting signals may be decoded to independentlymeasure the coupling of between the transmitter electrodes and thereceiver electrodes.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7 each of the sensor electrodes 610 ina common row, e.g., the sensor electrodes 610 a, the sensor electrodes610 b, the sensor electrodes 610 c, and/or the sensor electrodes 610 d,may be simultaneously driven with a sensing signal. In one embodiment,each of the sensor electrodes in a common row may be driven by a commontransmitter, reducing the number of transmitters required within sensorcircuitry 252. For example, each of the sensor electrodes 610 a may becoupled to a first transmitter of transmitter circuitry 257, each of thesensor electrodes 610 b may be coupled to a second transmitter oftransmitter circuitry 257, each of the sensor electrodes 610 c may becoupled to a third transmitter of transmitter circuitry 257, and each ofthe sensor electrodes 610 d may be coupled to a fourth transmitter oftransmitter circuitry 257.

Further, with reference to FIG. 6, each of the sensor electrodes 620a-620 h are coupled to a different receiver of receiver circuitry 258.With reference to FIG. 7, each of the sensor electrodes 620 i-620 q iscoupled to a different receiver of receivers of receiver circuitry 258.

FIG. 9 illustrates a schematic diagram of the input device 100,according to one or more embodiments. The elements of FIG. 9 areillustrated as being in a single layer for ease of description; however,one or more of the elements may be found on a layer different fromanother one or more of the elements, as illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 10.The input device 100 of FIG. 9 includes sensor electrodes 610, 620,traces 910, and semiconductor device 200. The traces 910 couple thesensor electrodes 610, 620 with the pads 520 of the semiconductor device200. In one embodiment, the traces 910 are coupled with the pads 360 ofsubstrate 310 which are coupled with the pads 260. Further, the pads 260are coupled via traces 920 to the sensor bus 256 and the sensor bus 256is coupled via traces 930 to transmitter circuitry 257 and via traces940 to receiver circuitry 258.

In one embodiment, each of the sensor electrodes 610, 620 is coupled toa different one of the pads 260. Further, each of the pads 260 iscoupled to one of the communication wires 259 of the sensor bus 256. Inone embodiment, two or more of the pads 260 are coupled to a commoncommunication wire 259, such that two or more of the sensor electrodes610 are coupled to a common transmitter of transmitter circuitry 257 andmay be driven simultaneously. For example, each of the sensor electrodes610 a is coupled to the communication wire 259 a, each of the sensorelectrodes 620 b is coupled to the communication wire 259 b, each of thethird sensor electrodes 620 c is coupled to the communication wire 259c, and each of the fourth sensor electrodes 620 d is coupled to thecommunication wire 259 d. Further, the communication wires 259 a-259 dare coupled to the transmitters 257.

In one or more embodiments, two or more of the pads 260 are coupled todifferent communication wires, such that two or more of the sensorelectrodes 620 are coupled to a different receiver of the receivercircuitry 258 and may be received with independently. For example, thesensor electrode 620 a is coupled to the communication wire 259 e, thesensor electrode 620 b is coupled to the communication wire 259 f, thesensor electrode 620 c is coupled to the communication wire 259 g, thesensor electrode 620 d is coupled to the communication wire 259 h, thesensor electrode 620 e is coupled to the communication wire 259 i, thesensor electrode 620 f is coupled to the communication wire 259 j, thesensor electrode 620 g is coupled to the communication wire 259 k, andthe sensor electrode 620 h is coupled to the communication wire 259 l.In one or more embodiments, the communication wires 259 e-259 l may eachbe coupled to a different receiver of the receiver circuitry 258.Alternatively, two or more of the communication wires 259 e-259 l may becoupled to a common receiver of the receiver circuitry 258 via aswitching device (e.g., a multiplexer or the like).

FIG. 10 illustrates is a cross-section of a schematic view of a portionthe semiconductor device 200. In one or more embodiments, thecommunication wires 259 may be disposed in different layers of theinterconnect layer 240. Further, the traces 920 and 930 may act asinterconnects travelling between the layers, coupling the traces 920 and903 with respective ones of the pads 260 a. In one embodiment, thecommunication wire 259 a is disposed in a first layer 241 of theinterconnect layer 240, the communication wire 259 b is disposed in asecond layer 242 of the interconnect layer 240, and the communicationwire 259 e is disposed in a third layer 243 of the interconnect layer240. Alternatively, one or more of the communications wires 259 may bedisposed in a common layer of the interconnect layer 240.

In one embodiment, the communication wire 259 a is coupled to the pad260 a ₁ via the trace 920 a and to the pad 260 a ₃ via the trace 920 b.Further, the communication wire 259 a is coupled to the transmittercircuitry 257 via the trace 930 a. Additionally, the communication wire259 b is coupled to the pad 260 a ₄ via the trace 920 c and to the pad260 a ₅ via the trace 920 d. Further, the communication wire 259 b iscoupled to the transmitter circuitry 257 via the trace 930 b. Moreover,the communication wire 259 e is coupled to the pad 260 a ₂ via the trace920 e and the communication wire 259 e is coupled to the receivercircuitry 258 via the trace 940 a.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flow chart of a method 1100 for operating acapacitive sensing device, according to one or more embodiments. Atoperation 1110, a first sensing signal is driven on a sensor electrodevia a first pad and a sensor electrode via a second pad. For example, afirst transmitter of transmitter circuitry 257 may drive the sensorelectrode 610 a ₁ with a transcapacitive signal via pad 260 a ₁ and thesensor electrode 610 a ₂ with a transcapacitive signal via pad 260 a ₂.The pad 260 a ₁ and the pad 260 a ₃ are coupled to a commoncommunication wire 259 a of the sensor bus 256. Further, in one or moreembodiments, the communication wire 259 a is coupled to a firsttransmitter of the transmitter circuitry 257 via trace 930 a. Atoperation 1120, a resulting signal is received with a third sensorelectrode via a third pad. For example, in one embodiment, a firstreceiver of receiver circuitry 258 receives a resulting signal with thesensor electrode 620 a via the pad 260 a ₂. The pad 260 a ₂ is coupledto a second wire, e.g., the communication wire 259 e, of the sensor bus256. Further, in one or more embodiments, the communication wire 259 eis coupled to the first receiver of the receiver circuitry 258 via trace940 a.

At operation 1130, positional information for a first input object isdetermined. For example, in one or more embodiments, the processingsystem 110 includes the determination module 390. The determinationmodule 390 receives the resulting signal or a processed resulting signalfrom the receiver circuitry 258 and determines a measurement of a changein capacitive coupling between the sensor electrodes 610 a ₁, 610 a ₂and the sensor electrode 620 a. In one embodiment, the determinationmodule 390 removes a baseline from the measurement of the change incapacitive coupling, applies one or more filters to the measurement ofthe change in capacitive coupling, and compares the measurement of thechange in capacitive coupling to one or more thresholds to determine thepositional information. In one embodiment, the determination module 390is further configured to determine a capacitive image from themeasurement of the change in capacitive coupling and determine thepositional information from the capacitive image.

Thus, the embodiments and examples set forth herein were presented inorder to best explain the embodiments in accordance with the presenttechnology and its particular application and to thereby enable thoseskilled in the art to make and use the disclosure. However, thoseskilled in the art will recognize that the foregoing description andexamples have been presented for the purposes of illustration andexample only. The description as set forth is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor device comprising: sensorcircuitry configured to operate a plurality of sensor electrodes forcapacitive sensing, wherein the plurality of sensor electrodes areexternal to the semiconductor device; a plurality of conductivecontacts, wherein a first conductive contact of the plurality ofconductive contacts is configured to be coupled to a first sensorelectrode of the plurality of sensor electrodes, a second conductivecontact of the plurality of conductive contacts is configured to becoupled to a second sensor electrode of the plurality of sensorelectrodes, and a third conductive contact of the plurality ofconductive contacts is configured to be coupled to a third sensorelectrode of the plurality of sensor electrodes; and a plurality oftraces, wherein a first trace of the plurality of traces couples thefirst conductive contact and the second conductive contact to a firsttransmitter of the sensor circuitry and a second trace of the pluralityof traces couples the third conductive contact to a first receiver ofthe sensor circuitry.
 2. The semiconductor device of claim 1, whereinthe semiconductor device further comprises: display circuitry configuredto drive a plurality of display electrodes for updating a display. 3.The semiconductor device of claim 2, wherein the display circuitry isinterposed between the first transmitter and the first receiver.
 4. Thesemiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensorelectrodes form a metal mesh.
 5. The semiconductor device of claim 1,wherein the plurality of sensor electrodes comprises a first group ofparallel electrodes and a second group of parallel electrodes whereinthe first group of parallel electrodes are orthogonal to the secondgroup of parallel electrodes.
 6. The semiconductor device of claim 1,wherein the sensor circuitry is configured to detect absolutecapacitance.
 7. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the sensorcircuitry is configured to detect transcapacitance.
 8. An input devicecomprising: a plurality of sensor electrodes; and a semiconductor devicecomprising: sensor circuitry configured to operate the plurality ofsensor electrodes for capacitive sensing, wherein the plurality ofsensor electrodes are external to the semiconductor device; a pluralityof conductive contacts, wherein a first conductive contact of theplurality of conductive contacts is configured to be coupled to a firstsensor electrode of the plurality of sensor electrodes, a secondconductive contact of the plurality of conductive contacts is configuredto be coupled to a second sensor electrode of the plurality of sensorelectrodes, and a third conductive contact of the plurality ofconductive contacts is configured to be coupled to a third sensorelectrode of the plurality of sensor electrodes; and a plurality oftraces, wherein a first trace of the plurality of traces couples thefirst conductive contact and the second conductive contact to a firsttransmitter of the sensor circuitry and a second trace of the pluralityof traces couples the third conductive contact to a first receiver ofthe sensor circuitry.
 9. The input device of claim 8, wherein thesemiconductor device further comprises: display circuitry configured todrive a plurality of display electrodes for updating a display.
 10. Theinput device of claim 9, wherein the display circuitry is interposedbetween the first transmitter and the first receiver.
 11. The inputdevice of claim 8, wherein the plurality of sensor electrodes form ametal mesh.
 12. The input device of claim 8, wherein the plurality ofsensor electrodes comprises a first group of parallel electrodes and asecond group of parallel electrodes wherein the first group of parallelelectrodes are orthogonal to the second group of parallel electrodes.13. The input device of claim 8, wherein the sensor circuitry isconfigured to detect absolute capacitance.
 14. The input device of claim8, wherein the sensor circuitry is configured to detecttranscapacitance.
 15. A method of capacitive sensing comprising:driving, with a first transmitter of a semiconductor device, a firstsensor electrode and a second sensor electrode with a first transmittersignal, wherein the first sensor electrode is coupled to a first contactof the semiconductor device and the second sensor electrode is coupledto a second contact of the semiconductor device, and wherein the firstcontact and the second contact are coupled to a first trace of a sensorbus of the semiconductor device and the first trace is coupled to thefirst transmitter; receiving, with a first receiver of the semiconductordevice, a first resulting signal with a third sensor electrode coupledto a third contact of the semiconductor device, wherein the thirdcontact is coupled to a second trace of the sensor bus, and the secondtrace is coupled to the first receiver, wherein the first sensorelectrode, the second sensor electrode, and the third sensor electrodeare disposed on a substrate external to the semiconductor device; anddetermining positional information for an input object based on ameasurement of a change in capacitive coupling between one or more ofthe first sensor electrode, the second sensor electrode and the thirdsensor electrode.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:driving, with display circuitry, a plurality of display electrodes forupdating a display.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein determining thepositional information is based at least on absolute capacitance. 18.The method of claim 15, wherein determining the positional informationis based at least on transcapacitance.
 19. The method of claim 15further comprising: driving, with a second transmitter, a fourth sensorelectrode and a fifth sensor electrode with a second transmitter signal,wherein the fourth sensor electrode is coupled to a fourth contact ofthe semiconductor device and the fifth sensor electrode is coupled to afifth contact of the semiconductor device, and wherein the fourthcontact and the fifth contact are coupled to a third trace of the sensorbus and the third trace is coupled to the second transmitter.
 20. Themethod of claim 19, further comprising: receiving, with a secondreceiver, a second resulting signal with a sixth sensor electrode,wherein the sixth sensor electrode is coupled to a sixth contract of thesemiconductor device, the sixth contract is coupled to a fourth trace ofthe sensor bus, and the fourth trace is coupled to the second receiver.